Agilent Technologies has scheduled an online seminar for customers on how to test for contamination from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The seminar on “Advanced Analytical Technologies for Analyzing Environmental Matrixes Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons” will be held at 11 a.m. July 8.In response to the spill, “Agilent scientists immediately began working with government agencies tasked in the monitoring of environmental and food samples,” the Santa Clara company said in a statement Wednesday. Information about the seminar may be found at: www.agilent.com/chem/Enviro_eSeminar.

— Frank Michael Russell, Mercury News

IBM

Wireless push

IBM is introducing new software for mobile devices, expanding its push into the growing wireless market. The programs include one that analyzes data from cell towers, helping carriers detect problems before outages occur, the Armonk, N.Y., company said Wednesday in a statement. Another connects voice and Web communications, speeding up actions such as filing an insurance claim. IBM is betting that software for smartphones and other handheld devices can generate more profit as it aims to double operating earnings per share to $20 by 2015. The market for mobile computing, including hardware, software and services, could reach $250 billion by 2015, according to IBM.

— Bloomberg News

Facebook

Privacy plea

Facebook continues to face criticism over privacy protections at its social networking website. Privacy and civil liberties groups on Wednesday urged Facebook to address issues they say violate the privacy of the site’s more than 400 million users. In an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the groups applauded steps the company has taken to make it easier for users to change privacy settings. But it asked for additional measures, such as allowing users to control all of the information they share on Facebook and making it easier to export their data and easier to quit Facebook. The letter was signed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Center for Digital Democracy and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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